Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was presented a guard of honor by a smartly turned-out contingent drawn from three services of Pakistan’s armed forces at an official welcome ceremony held here at the Prime Minister House on Sunday evening. The Saudi Crown Prince, who arrived here on a two-day visit, was driven by Prime Minister Imran Khan from the Nur Khan Airbase to the PM House, where he reviewed the guard of honor. The national anthems of the two countries were also played. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Imran Khan introduced their respective delegations to each other. The Crown Prince also planted a sapling at the lawns of the PM House. Earlier the Crown Prince was accorded a rousing red-carpet welcome as he arrived on a two-day visit to Pakistan at the invitation of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Led by Imran Khan, the federal cabinet warmly received the Saudi Crown Prince upon arrival at the Nur Khan Airbase. The three services chiefs and senior Pakistani and Saudi officials were also present. The Crown Prince, accompanied by a high-powered delegation including members of the Saudi Royal Family, key ministers, and leading businessmen, was given a 21-gun salute as he alighted from his airplane at the airbase. A formation of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-16 and JF-17 Thunder aircraft escorted the airplane of Saudi Crown Prince as it entered the Pakistani airspace. Prime Minister Imran Khan later drove the Saudi Crown Prince to the PM House, where an official welcome ceremony was awaiting the Royal dignitary. During his two-day stay, Prince Mohammed bin Salman will call on President Dr. Arif Alvi and also meet the Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff. The Saudi Crown Prince, who also holds portfolios of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, would have discussions with the leadership of Pakistan to further cement the brotherly ties between the two countries, besides deliberating upon a wide range of issues of mutual interest.

Imran Khan’s Cabinet Members and COAS were present at the airport to receive the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. The PM drove the guest to the PM house where guard of honor awaited the Crown Prince.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had a one-to-one meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman here at the Prime Minister House on Sunday. The meeting was followed by the inaugural session of Supreme Coordination Council, co-chaired by the Prime Minister and the Crown Prince, a Foreign Office statement said. The high-powered Supreme Coordination Council was proposed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Saudi Arabia in October last year. The objective to put in place a high-level institutional mechanism was to fast track decisions in key areas of bilateral cooperation and for close monitoring of their implementation. The Coordination Council includes respective ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defense, Defense Production, Finance, Energy, Petroleum, Water Resources, Information, Culture, Interior, Commerce, Trade and Investment and Human Resources of both countries. The Council would cover areas under three pillars: political and security, economic, and social and culture. Under the Supreme Coordination Council, a steering committee and joint working groups have been set up at ministerial and senior officials’ levels, to develop frameworks of cooperation in specific projects and submit recommendations to the respective ministers. The functioning of the Supreme Council would be coordinated by the ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries. It would meet annually in Riyadh and Islamabad alternately.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed several agreements and Memorandums of Understanding in different sectors. The signing ceremony was held Prime Minister House in Islamabad tonight. The sectors include cooperation in the production of electricity, the establishment of refinery petrochemical plant, promotion of sports and technical assistance in the standardization sector. Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Muhammad Bin Salman, Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, ministers of both countries and delegations also attended the ceremony.

Earlier, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir arrived here who was received by his counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi. Conspicious among othree there were Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki and Pakistan’s Ambassador in Saudi Arabia Raja Ali Ejaz.

Meanwhile, Saudi power producing company ACWA Power has expressed its willingness to invest around 4 billion dollars in Pakistan’s renewable energy sector. The intention to this regard was expressed during a meeting between a Saudi investors’ delegation led by ACWA Power Chairman Mohammad A Abunayyan and the Pakistani side headed by Minister for Finance Asad Umar in Islamabad. Speaking on the occasion, Mohammad A Abunayyan said the ACWA Power is a developer, investor, and co-owner of a portfolio of power generation and desalinated water production plants in countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Southern Africa, and South East Asian region. He said his company is keen to invest in Pakistan’s energy sector, particularly in renewable energy as there is a huge investment opportunity for production of cheap energy to fulfill the growing local demand. Welcoming the Saudi delegation, Finance Minister Asad Umar lauded the beginning of renewed relationships between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Later, talking to media persons, the Finance Minister said the visit of Saudi Crown Prince would help open new avenues of bilateral trade and investment. He said the existing bilateral economic relations do not reflect the true potential. However, after the visit, a huge investment was expected from Saudi Arabia which would help further strengthen the trade ties between the two countries.

Pakistan’s highest civil award, the Nishan-e-Pakistan, will be conferred on the Crown Prince in an investiture ceremony at the presidency tomorrow (Monday). From Pakistan, the Crown Prince will go to India, China, Indonesia and Malaysia.

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Trudeau’s Tory rival pledges balanced budget in 5 years

OTTAWA: Canada’s Conservative leader and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s main rival in upcoming elections pledged Friday to balance the government’s budget within five years, backtracking on a previous target.
An average of several recent polls gives the Tories a six percentage point lead over the Liberals ahead of the October ballot.
Andrew Scheer previously vowed that balancing the budget could be done within two years, but now claims “Trudeau has made an even bigger mess of the budget than I thought possible.
“And he has made the job of cleaning it up that much more difficult,” he said in a speech to the Canadian Club in Vancouver.
Canada’s economy surged after the Liberals took office in 2015 and unleashed a massive stimulus. But growth is forecast to slow this year.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau in his March budget pointed to 900,000 new jobs created since 2015 and the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years.
The government’s fiscal deficit, however, is projected to balloon to Can$19.8 billion (US$14.7 billion) — after Trudeau abandoned his 2015 pledge to run a few small deficits and return to balance this year.
Still, Canada’s debt-to-GDP ratio is lower than its G7 counterparts and is expected to fall over the coming years from the current 30.7 percent.
Scheer said, “even the most optimistic projections don’t have the Liberals balancing the budget for 20 more years.”
“But if Canadians elect a Conservative government this fall, we will balance the budget in about a quarter of that time,” he said.

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Canada unveils air passenger bill of rights

OTTAWA: Airline passengers in Canada will soon be eligible for significant compensation for delayed flights or lost baggage under regulations announced Friday by Transportation Minister Marc Garneau.
The measures follow a rising number of complaints about being stuck on the tarmac for hours, musical instruments being broken in transit and lost baggage.
“Our goal was to provide a world-leading approach to air passenger rights that would be predictable and fair for passengers while ensuring our air carriers remain strong and competitive,” Garneau said.
“These new regulations achieve that balance and will give air travelers the rights and treatment they pay for and deserve.”
Starting July 15, airlines will be required to disembark passengers after three hours on the tarmac if there is no prospect of taking off soon.
They would also need to compensate passengers bumped from overbooked flights up to Can$2,400 (US$1,800) and up to Can$2,100 for lost luggage.
As of December 15, additional measures will require airlines to pay passengers up to Can$1,000 for flight delays and cancellations, provide food, drink and accommodations, and rebook them on new flights — using competing airlines if necessary.
They would also have to seat children near a parent at no extra charge and develop new standards for transporting musical instruments.
The latter was in response to travelling musicians complaining on social media about broken guitars and other instruments during flights.
The rules apply to flights to, from and within Canada.
According to Canada’s government statistics agency, there are an average of 5.5 million take-offs and landings at Canada’s 91 airports each year.
Due to its vast geography, air transportation is crucial for connecting parts of the country. A flight from easternmost to westernmost Canada takes about eight hours.

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BEIJING: Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan’s upcoming visit to Pakistan will further deepen high-level exchanges, friendship and mutual trust between China and Pakistan and advance development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) besides bilateral cooperation across the board, a Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesperson said on Friday.
“We believe the vice president’s visit will further deepen high-level exchanges, friendship and mutual trust between China and Pakistan and advance the CPEC development and our cooperation across the board,” Lu Kang said while responding to a question of APP regarding the significance of the visit during his daily press briefing held here.
He said the visit would inject a new impetus in a closer community of shared future in a new era for two countries.
The spokesperson said the Chinese vice president would be visiting Pakistan from May 26 to 28 at the invitation of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
“Wang Qishan will be meeting with President Arif Alvi and hold talks with Prime Minister Imran Khan and exchange views on deepening bilateral relations and international and regional issues of mutual interests,” he added.
Lu Kang remarked that China and Pakistan were all-weather strategic cooperative partners and iron friends, adding, “We firmly support each other on issues concerning each other’s foreign interests.”